BK432

As others have said, this is a solution in search of a problem. Ober and Maeda will both get plenty of starts. Non-issue.

Great thoughts! Could be something there for sure.

Thanks Cody. While I'd prefer to feel more certainty with the Twins bullpen as we start February, maybe I should start trying to find zen with what is already here. Are the guys left on the FA market as relief pitchers really better than Henriquez or Sands? Perhaps the Twins make the move with these guys and have some nice bullpen depth after all.

The price for Cabrera will rightfully be steep. Pablo is more likely for this reason. I realize fans want a guy locked up longer than 2 years, but trading for Lopez is much more likely. It's the kind of trade the Twins have already made. I could see: Pablo Lopez for Luis Arraez Max Kepler David Festa

Sorry, but this is a ridiculous suggestion. You can decide not to want to move Arraez or Miranda, but you have to give up something of value to get even one of these pitchers.

While I think the Pads might trade Kim, I'm also not convinced they will. Like @chpettit19 said, it's likely they will slide Kim over with Cronenworth on the right side of the infield. Of course, if the Pads go sign a 1B, then I'll circle back here and revise. Would I be open to it? Absolutely - he's a great defender and an adequate hitter. But I sure hope they get Correa.

If there's a path, it's something like this, though I wonder if the AAV is slightly light. But it's in the ballpark, and if the Twins have the cojones, it's an offer structure they should consider. Correa would certainly listen, and it would be at the very least close. I'm not afraid to look naïve: the Twins should sign Correa, and more than that, I expect them to. This is what they need to come and play.

As a fantasy baseballer who owns 4 dynasty teams with deep minor league rosters, I am constantly mining data to identify guys who have broken out before they ever hit any sort of "list". I remember running my queries maybe in late May this year, and I was shocked to see Rodriguez at the top of my board. I knew who he was, but I don't follow the Twins minors specifically much closer than all the other organizations, so I was shocked at the numbers I was seeing. I flagged him for pickup/draft and I now own him everywhere. If he comes back from this injury and picks up where he left off, he's a potential top 10 guy by the end of next season. Lots happens between A ball and MLB, but he's one to be excited about for sure.

??????? This is a top 3 RandBalls Stu. I was laughing a little too hard, my coworkers wanted to know what's up. It was "Nightmare Diarrhea" that finally got me.

I'm all for aggressiveness, but if we do all the things in this post, the payroll will exceed $200M. While I would argue that ownership could afford it if they wanted to, it's not feasible to expect this would happen. I would be a fan of signing Correa and Abreu though.... And the trade for Burnes and Woodruff....the "tradeables" listed have really no trade value at all. You would need to prepare to deal 3 of your top 5 prospects plus someone like Jose Miranda.....and even then I'm not sure it's enough. I like aggressiveness and passion, but we have to be realistic too.

You'd.....let Jorge Alcala go instead of pay him $800K? I don't even know where to start with that....

You don't employ backup catchers for their bats, guys. You just need to be capable or better defensively. And he's at least average if not somewhat above.

Dreaming on potential..... 1. Gray 2. Mahle 3. Rodon 4. Ryan 5. Bundy still I guess? Still, please, please, please....

Sheer brilliance.

Hard not to like what Cade Povich has done so far this year. Pitching well at high A at a reasonably young age and hitting 97 shows that his velo is up a tick. Wouldn't be surprised to see his FV grade rise to a 40+ or 45 if this is indicative of how the rest of the year goes. Possible Top 15 Twins prospect next year.

I'm happy Buxton took the deal he did, but part of me remains surprised he didn't respond similarly to the Twins' offer in real life as he did to your OOTP 7/$100M offer.

I agree with the sentiment that what was proposed probably isn't enough, but: a) Trueblood didn't finish putting the deal together, he was just highlighting the integral pieces; and I think people are really UNDERVALUING the compensatory pick I doubt this is as far off as several believe it to be. Some people posting what they think the Reds would demand might be right - they might demand it as a starting point, but to think that Alex Kirilloff would need to be included is a tad absurd. 6 years of Kirilloff for 3 of Castillo is a loss before you go any further. And the Reds would know that.

I think this is where we lose a bit in translation as fans. Categorizing Kirilloff as a guy with no games above AA is both true but also direly in need of context. He did spend the entire summer in St. Paul and got to hit and play simulated games at what was more or less a AAA level. All accounts of that time that I've read is that he was the best player there. We didn't get to see that or evaluate that, but the Twins did. I have no angst about the decision - they may still decide to manipulate service time. But I also don't see it as a stretch that he very well is the right guy for the job now.

I'd place the odds that Nick Gordon is DFA'd before ever playing an MLB game at 60/40 or better. I'm surprised at the number of people who think he's close.

Bundy is not good and isn't going to be good. This trade won't matter to either team.

I love posts like these. It's always fun to go through the thought exercise. I really don't think they'll do anything until they get 32 teams, and then they'll go to 4 divisions or (gasp!) 8 like the NFL. Regardless, my only criticism is that MLB would never, ever, ever break up the Cubs and the Cardinals. Literally a 0% chance that would happen.

As an NL fantasy baseball player, I've been a huge fan of Yates the past couple years. He's seriously good and worth consideration. Good writeup.

I don't disagree with the notion that as we have our core in place that we should pivot at least a little to longer term deals. I do think it was smart to stick to shorter commitment until you know what you have.

It just seems like we're looking at the same picture, but seeing two drastically different things. They have plenty of money to continue to develop guys, pay arbitration salaries and extend where it makes sense. They also have plenty of money to supplement through FA. They've done, in my opinion, an extremely good job setting up that payroll flexibility (at times too good, perhaps) and planned well for 2020 and beyond with conviction. You asked for a plan - I'm not sure entirely what you're looking for, but I'll try my best. They'll probably let Pineda, Castro and Reed walk which is $25 million in savings. Hughes comes off the books at $6M. Schoop probably walks too, but they might re-sign him. Let's count him in at the same salary, $7.5M. Let's say they sign Odorizzi or similar at $15M. Let's say they sign Gibson or similar at $10M. Arbitration raises for Sano, Parker, Buxton, Rogers, Adrianza, May, Berrios. They may decide to let Parker and Adrianza go (or even May) but let's say they keep them all. $28M ($4M/player) seems like more than is needed but let's go with that number. Mejia is Super 2 so that might be another $500K if they keep him. All that is only a $5M-$6M increase over this year. THAT'S IT. And yes, as young guys develop and perform well, they'll get expensive. That is true. That's why a development machine in the minors is so important. The new regime has seemed to invest in that machine so that we continue to develop the prospects we have. It all seems very planful, at least to me.